Riva
Yachts for sale & charter

From humble 19th century beginnings as a boat repair service on the shores of Italy’s Lake Iseo, Riva Yachts has grown to launch some of the world’s most iconic tenders and superyachts. A brand forever associated with silver screen stars including Clark Gable, Brigitte Bardot and multiple ‘007’s’, Riva continues to go from strength to strength as it nears its two hundred year anniversary. Now owned by the Ferretti Group, Riva Yachts has built on its proud boat-building heritage to launch a modern range of yachts and superyachts from 8m up to 50 metres, bringing together the sleek grace, rich history, and raw power of the iconic Riva brand. 

The Yachts That Make Riva Great

Young shipwright Pietro Riva began repairing and building boats in 1842, after a storm wrecked many of the boats on Lake Iseo. His small shipyard in Sarnico became known for its elegant wooden commercial boats as the shipyard passed down through the Riva generations, moving into motorboats in the 1920s and quickly sweeping the international racing circuit. In the 1950’s, Riva’s legend continued to grow when Carlo Riva took over, launching a series of classic wooden runabouts that proved irresistible to the jet-set for their low, sleek lines and glossy mahogany finish. This rise to iconic status culminated in the Aquarama, ‘the Ferrari of the boating world’, born of a superb collaboration between Riva and acclaimed designer Giorgio Barilani in 1962. Carlo Riva also dreamed big, designing the Caravelle, Atlantic, Marco Polo and Vespucci series superyachts in collaboration with other shipyards, as well as a 50m design that didn’t come to fruition at the time. In 1969, Riva sold to US company Whittaker, sparking a new direction for the company. Many groundbreaking yachts would follow during this era as Riva expanded into fibreglass hull construction, with iconic boats including the Bahia Mar 20, the Sport Fisherman 25, the St Tropez and the Superamerica. In 1989, Riva was sold to British entity Vickers, launching the 58 Bahamas designed by Mauro Micheli, as well Riva’s final wooden runabout, the Aquarama Special, no. 784. An era was ending, another beginning. In 2000, Riva became part of the Ferretti Group, beginning a new journey under the continued direction of designer Mauro Michelli. It was time to return to Carlo Riva’s dream of building superyachts, with the establishment of the Riva Superyachts Division, building sleek, sporty superyachts up to 50m in length. Today, Carlo Riva’s dream of a 50m superyacht is finally being built under the proud Riva name — or at least a yacht inspired by him. 

The Yard

Riva has three state-of-the-art shipyards in Italy, including the original Sarnico shipyard where it all began in 1842. Sarnico currently produces the 27-66 foot Riva yachts, while the 76-110 foot Rivas are built and serviced at the vast La Spezia yard, opened in 2004. Riva superyachts up to 50m are built at the new 80,000sqm shipyard in Ancona, home to the Riva Superyachts Division. Riva is now owned by Ferretti and its parent group, Shandong Heavy Industry Group (Weichai Group) of China, affording Riva Yachts the resources and strategic vision to continue to grow the legend of the Riva Yachts brand.